The waiter’s attitude annoyed Li Chengru. “We don’t want woodsheds. What rooms do you have?”
The waiter replied impatiently, “What kind of rooms do you want then? There are only two top-class rooms, each two silver taels per night. A middle-class room is one silver tael and a lower-class room is half the price.”
Li Chengru thumped two silver taels down on the table and said, “I want a top-class one.”
Squire Liu ordered the other top room and Liu Qianqian a medium one. Ye Xiaoxian also wanted a medium one, which proved to be as stark as a village hut. After all, a low-class room was even worse.
But Old Mr. Xiao stopped her from paying. “Don’t be so extravagant or compare yourself with the rich. You’re just a village woman. We don’t need to live as well as them.”
However, Ye Xiaoxian didn’t like to put herself at the mercy of others. Besides, she paid with her own money, not Old Mr. Xiao’s. So she raised her chin like Li Chengru and threw two silver tales onto the table. “A medium room, please.”
As usual, the men and women lived separately. However, the inn allowed only four adults to a room. Children were free to stay with them. So Ye Xiaoxian shared the room with Li Hongmei, Wong Mudan, Chen Ju and Baoxue.
Xiao Tieshu and Xiao Tongshu thought it expensive. But they hadn’t spent much money on the journey. They had brought food from home and Ye Xiaoxian, Squire Liu and Li Chengru had paid all the other fees. Thinking about this, the two men decided to order two medium rooms. In any case, they wanted to have a warm bath.
…
Li Chengru was the first to go upstairs. When turning a corner on the second floor, he almost bumped into an enchanting lady. She was in her twenties and had an oval face, rosy cheeks, slanted eyes and long black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her fair right shoulder was bare, making her look even sexier.
“I’m sorry,” Li Chengru said indifferently before passing her by.
But she groaned in a cutesy voice, “Sir, I’m hurt.” She stroked her knee while giving him a glad eye.
Li Chengru knew he hadn’t run into her and that she was obviously flirting with him. He said coldly, “I’m not interested in you. Get out of my way!”
Rather than being irritated, the lady continued flirting with him. “Sir, why are you so angry? I’m not asking you to be interested in me. I just feel hurt and can’t walk.”
He asked, “What do you want then?”
“Sir, could you help me back to my room?” she asked suggestively.
But he pushed her away and said, “Why don’t you ask the next man for help?” After saying this, he walked straight to his room without turning back.
Just then, Ye Xiaoxian reached the second floor and saw the scene. Embarrassed, she moved aside slightly. This charming lady must be the legendary innkeeper. Ye Xiaoxian learned from a movie that this coquettish lady wasn’t so bad. She looked interested in all men, but all she wanted was money. Li Chengru, rich and handsome, was such a good target.
Noticing Ye Xiaoxian’s gaze, the lady flipped out easily, “What are you looking at, you ugly woman!” Her initial gentle and coquettish attitude vanished into nothing.
Ye Xiaoxian gave a wry smile. All right, I’m neither a man nor rich.
…
Jin Xiaoyu went back to her room, followed by a waiter.
The waiter asked, “Madam, as far as I know, that man is really rich.”
“Of course.” Jin Xiaoyu crossed her legs on a chair and gulped down a cup of water. “Or he wouldn’t resist my beauty.”
The waiter asked, “Do we need to…” He made a gesture across his neck.
“No. I can feel that he’s excellent in martial arts. Let’s wait a while longer.”
…
Ye Xiaoxian and her relatives went into a room with two beds. She and Li Chengmei shared one, and Wong Mudan, Chen Ju and Baoxue slept in another. They threw themselves on the beds at once. They couldn’t wait to enjoy the luxury of sleeping on soft mattresses.
Wong Mudan said, “The room is so expensive. I don’t want to go anywhere else and just sleep here for a whole night until we have to check out.”
Chen Ju said, “Anyway, we don’t have anywhere else to go. We are in the middle of a desert where bugs, snakes and lizards come out at night.”
“Then I have a reason for being lazy. What about ordering some steamed buns for dinner? I’d like to lie here and fill my stomach.”
Ye Xiaoxian smiled at this good idea.
Wong Mudan seemed to think of something and said, “Wow, did you see the flirtatious woman who ran into Mr. Li? I was so startled. It’s hard to imagine what she will be like when she’s old!”
“Do you think she was from a brothel?” Chen Ju asked.
Suddenly, it occurred to them that Li Hongmei used to be a prostitute.
Wong Mudan and Chen Ju liked to discuss her background secretly, but it was not a good situation to mention this topic.
“Well, Hongmei, we don’t mean that.” Wong Mudan apologized first.
Chen Ju followed immediately. “Yes, we don’t mean to hurt you. We just want to say that woman is too coquettish.”
Li Hongmei didn’t mind it at all. “I also feel she’s too coquettish. But we’d better not gossip behind her back. Someone may be listening on the other side of the wall.”
She was right. Their walls indeed had ears. No one could run such a big business alone. Jin Xiaoyu had trained quite a few spies and hatchet men who would monitor every customer’s conversation. After a while, a man reported all he had heard to Jin Xiaoyu.
She sneered, “Humph! Bumpkins! Just leave them alone.”
…
When the women were about to order some buns, a servant from the Liu family knocked on the door.
He said Squire Liu wanted to have a roast lamb for dinner, but it was too much for his family. So he decided to buy two roast lambs with Li Chengru and shared them with the Xiao family.
On hearing that, everyone’s mouth began to water uncontrollably. Instantly, they jumped out of the beds and rushed down the stairs.
On the first floor, Squire Liu had arranged two big tables. One was for his own family and the other for the Xiao family, Li Chengru and Fengsheng. Some steamed buns and local specialties had been served on the tables. The mutton wasn’t ready yet. So they nibbled on the buns, saving their stomachs for the best dish.
After a long while, the roast lambs were finally put on the tables. The lambs were no bigger than piglets. To their disappointment, the meat was not as crisp as expected. It seemed to have been braised rather than roasted.
Some strong men beside them also ordered a roast lamb. Seeing the miserable dish, they flew into a rage immediately. “Waiter! Get out of here!”
A waiter came up to them and asked calmly, “What’s wrong?”
“Is the mutton braised or roasted? How are we going to eat this?” a brawny brute of a man shouted angrily.
The waiter replied casually, “Using chopsticks or hands. You can eat however you like.”
“Bastard! Take this lamb away! Give our money back!”
The waiter said, “You ordered a roast lamb, so we gave you a roast lamb. If everyone was like you, how could we run our business?”
“Don’t make me beat you!” the man roared.
As he was about to fling the table, Jin Xiaoyu flew down gracefully from a height. She had changed into a unisex suit, making her appear neat and spirited. But her voice was still sweet and soft. “Sir, I heard that you don’t like our mutton, right?”
“It indeed tastes bad,” the man replied.
Jin Xiaoyu smiled brightly. “If you don’t like it, you can just throw it away or you can fight with me. If you lose, you can get out of here. If you win, I can give the money back to you. Is that okay?”
The man knew she was not a person to be trifled with, but how could he be scared of a woman? Better to fight than to lose face!
But before he could select a place to fight, Jin Xiaoyu was quick to strike. Then, everyone present was impressed by her valor and nimbleness. Her moves seemed weak and soft, but they actually contained great power. In the blink of an eye, the man and his companions were all beaten to the ground.
She said coldly, “Throw them out of here! They are not welcome!”
The awesome sight came as a great shock to the two families. They decided to swallow the meat and pretend that they enjoyed it very much.
Jin Xiaoyu turned to them with a bright smile. “What do you think of the mutton?”
Squire Liu didn’t dare criticize the mutton. He couldn’t bear the thought of being thrown out into the dangerous desert.
But Ye Xiaoxian said calmly, “Can I use your kitchen?”
